Daily Life in Wartime Japan, 1940-1945 (Modern War Studies)

The volume is slim (189 pages) and gathers together material that can be found in other sources. Yet it is a good read and can serve as an introduction to the subject matter for those interested in what daily life was like in wartime Japan. The first two chapters have information on the food shortages resulting from the economic aspects of the war followed by three chapters dealing with the children that were evacuated from the cities into the rural areas because of US targeting civilians in the urban cities.The final three chapters take place in the last few months of the war and the civilian response to the call to defend the homeland to the death of the last man. From struggling housewives to the farmers trying to increase crop yields to teenage girls drafted to work in factories, many pertinent views are presented. The author has written a fine volume on the subject and would recommend it for all in Japanese studies.

Gives a believable view of Japanese humanity during Japan's long war of conquest. As in Germany and Italy, the Japanese regime received enough popular support to stay in power. Italians were still cheering Mussolini on in April of 1945, and millions of Japanese supported their regime. Many Japanese grumbled openly against their government as did many Germans, but any resistance failed to actively take on the regime and in the end all three countries were destroyed.

What a fantastic contribution to wartime Japanese history! Prof. Yamashita is an interesting writer as well as a consummate researcher. Diarists in Japan were rare so this collection is a great resource for Pacific War historians or cultural historians. Highly recommended. I have given short passages to my high school students.

This book gives an empathetic picture of life on the ground in Japan during the war.What stood out to me were incidents where people employed creative ways to feed children, bending policies and resorting to under cover acts of kindness.

This is a well-written and thorough account of an aspect of WW II unknown to most Americans. Life in wartime Japan was increasingly difficult and harrowing as the war went on. Lost in the traditional historical focus on generals, politicians, and battles fought are the struggles of daily existence and precarious survival among the civilian population. Professor Yamashita's account sheds light on this forgotten aspect of the war.

Very interested in war from internal Japanese view but this book does not provide real explanations or stories. Nor recommended.

A FANTASTIC BOOK FOR ANY wORLD wAR ii STUDENT.

Thoughtful and humane account based on wartime diaries